


the magic spell you cast

by mearcats



Series: la vie en rose [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 23:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6928915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mearcats/pseuds/mearcats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Glances, pining, kisses, arguments, and more...there are always new firsts in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the magic spell you cast

**Author's Note:**

> This is for Red Beauty Week! Today's theme is "Firsts".

The first time Ruby sees Belle, she’s convinced she’s seeing an actual ray of sunshine. One who drinks too much iced tea, but her sunny appeal can’t be denied even under the threat of an imminent breakup. Ruby is sure the entire diner can hear her heart beating, but she prays they don’t anyway.

Ruby chats with her about her life, about the strangeness of Storybrooke, about love. Her heart twists when she find out about Belle’s involvement with the Dark One, but she doesn’t let it stop her from trying to get close to her.

(Seeing Belle on a walk with Gold a few days afterward makes her hurt in a way she doesn’t expect. Later, she gives Billy a chance when he asks her out, hoping his sweet demeanor will distract her from bright blue eyes and a softer, more feminine form.)

—

The first time Belle wants Ruby, she isn’t herself. Lacey is a woman who takes what she wants, and as she eyes the other woman’s leather pants and tight red top, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders…Lacey yearns for her.

She approaches Ruby boldly. Lacey flirts shamelessly, running a hand up that leather-clad thigh until one perfectly manicured hand (nails all painted cherry red, of course) halts her progress. She pouts, but when the other woman explains that she wants more – that Ruby wants Belle, not Lacey – she lets her leave. She watches as Ruby makes her way out of the Rabbit Hole, sighing as she downs another drink.

(Once she is herself again, she pretends not to remember. She wants to forget so much of what happened while she was Lacey. And she wants things to be normal again. But she thinks about Ruby sometimes, saying that it was Belle she wants. She wonders if that’s still true.)

—

The first time Ruby realizes she’s in love with Belle she nearly crashes her car into the grocery store. She’s on her way to pick up some chicken noodle soup and mango sorbet for her pregnant, ailing friend and roommate and it just hits her – that she will do anything for this woman.

Belle has lived with her since she came back from the Underworld a widow. She makes Ruby’s days brighter, and she’s happy to offer her a room in her newly-purchased house. Sometimes Ruby thinks Belle looks at her longingly, but that way lies madness and unrequited love, so she puts it out of her mind.

(Ruby berates herself for falling in love with her roommate repeatedly. It’s clearly making her a little weird, because Belle asks if she’s done something wrong. Ruby reassures Belle she could _never_ as the other woman’s eyes well with tears and her bottom lip wobbles. Pregnancy hormones are no joke.)

—

The first time Belle kisses Ruby, she wonders why she’s waited so long. It’s after she gets home from a shift at the library to find Ruby in the spare room cursing up a storm as she attempts to put together the crib Belle had ordered a couple weeks ago. She looks so beautiful and frazzled, and it hits Belle how much Ruby has done for her.

It’s not just gratitude, though. Belle finally lets herself feel everything she’s been trying to push away the last four months – the joy when Ruby gets home after day of work, the way her heart jumps when she laughs, and the ache between her legs when she sees Ruby pulling off her leather jacket and exchanging it for a soft sweater. So she launches herself at the other woman and pours everything into their kiss.

(When Ruby says, “Finally,” and Belle knows she isn’t alone in the way she feels, she nearly does a happy little dance. Instead, she settles for wrapping her arms around her. Ruby pulls her closer, and when they fall asleep together in Ruby’s bed that night, Belle thanks whatever deities are out there that her life has led her here.)

—

The first time Ruby makes love to Belle, it’s like the stars have finally aligned. She’s wanted this for so long, and feels so lucky to be the one with this glorious woman in her bed. Her hand is moving between Belle’s legs as she presses lingering kisses to her distended stomach, and she never wants to be anywhere else.

It’s been a month since they first kissed, a month since they decided to be together. A month full of blushing, kisses at the breakfast table, and talks about the future. But Belle holds herself back, and Ruby worries she’s not sure anymore. Then she gets home from work and goes to change into her lounging clothes when she sees Belle looking into the mirror in dissatisfaction, running her fingers over the stretch marks that have appeared on her pregnant belly. Ruby finally understands, and as she worshipfully tells her girlfriend how beautiful she is, Belle all but yanks her toward the bed.

(It’s phenomenal, and it’s even sweeter later, when they’re sated and lying together with their limbs tangled together. Belle tells her about how insecure she has been feeling, and Ruby gets to reassure her enthusiastically. Ruby only hopes she’s not wearing a shit-eating grin, though she knows any close observer can see the spring in her step the next day.)

—

The first time Belle picks a fight with Ruby, it’s over something stupid and inconsequential. She knows she’s being irrational, but she’s nine months pregnant and tired of her girlfriend pandering to her. She wants Ruby to tell her what she really thinks and to stop coddling her. So she says things she later regrets, and feels the guilt burning inside almost as soon as the words leave her mouth.

She only wait an hour before climbing into the bed in the guest bedroom, the one Ruby claimed for the evening after their fight. Belle crawls under the covers and seeks out Ruby’s hands and asks her for forgiveness, for her to hold her.

(Ruby tells her the next day that even though it hurt at the time, she knew they would be fine. Because they always are, because they’re worth fighting for. You can’t build a life together without a night on the outs every now and then, but they both know it’s worth it.)

—

The first time Ruby holds their daughter, she cries. She’s so happy about this little miracle of a child that might not be hers by blood, but who is hers in every way that matters. She presses a kiss to Belle’s damp forehead as she places the wailing bundle in her arms and thinks how fortunate she is that this is her life.

She waits until little Jane is asleep before asking Belle to marry her. She knows they’re forever, has for a while. But she wants – and so does Belle – this opportunity to publicly celebrate their love with all their friends and family.

(Belle says yes, calmly but joyfully. She might have been more excited, but childbirth tends to be exhausting. They tell everyone the next day, and Granny just says, “It’s about time.”)

—

The first time they call each other “wife”, they’re slow-dancing together inside Granny’s diner next to the table where they’d first met. All the wedding guests have long since cleared out after the reception, and they’re finally alone. Belle’s head is rest on Ruby’s breast as they sway.

The enormity of it the vows they’ve made, promising each other forever, makes them both a little sappy. All their usual little nicknames come out, and they realize they can add a new one.

(Both Belle and Ruby are glad that Jane is with Granny tonight, even though they miss her. They might have a lifetime of nights together ahead of them, but this one is special. Ruby tells Belle she’s known she was special since the first time she saw her. Belle pulls her closer, the magic of the moment weaving its quiet spell around the two lovers.)


End file.
